India's ageing shift needs a three-track policy reset (opens the source in a new tab)
- A howindialives.com piece in Mint says India is still young, but the share of people aged 60 and over, about 10% now, is projected to double in two decades, while the working-age share peaks around 2031.
- Fertility in eight states has slipped below the level demographers link to a low-fertility trap, yet family planning still rewards sterilisation. It urges rebalancing, not control.
- For older adults it proposes trained, better-paid caregivers, Keralam-style day-care centres and ASHA workers retrained for geriatric care; for workers, cities young families want to live in.
Why it matters India's growth story leans on its working-age bulge; building care systems and family-friendly cities now is cheaper than scrambling after that bulge peaks.
Other side Pro-natal incentives have done little in rich countries, and with the workforce still growing, scarce public money may do more for jobs today than for births tomorrow.